Alex Coles: The Transdisciplinary Studio亞歷克斯·科爾斯:《跨領域工作室》

TEXT BY 撰文 x Peng Zuqiang 彭祖強

“We have entered a post-post-studio age.” Announced on the cover Alex Coles book The Transdisciplinary Studio, since ‘Post-studio’ was only a novelty in the 60s in the art world. He identified the term ‘Transdisciplinary Studio’, as a model which deliberately crosses the boundary between disciplines: art, architecture, design, and etc.

So what is ‘Transdisciplinary’ then? It is not multidisciplinary which adopts different disciplines simultaneously; it is also different from Interdisciplinary, which combines different disciplines and attempts to create something new. Transdisciplinary is supposed to transcend the borders of disciplines and therefore practice from a degree level zero. It is “a space that is at once between, across, and beyond all disciplines” which exceeds the forms of multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary practices.

The prime example is without a doubt Studio Olafur Eliasson. Eliasson’s practice is renowned for the intersection of science, architecture and fine art. Through case studies and interviews, the book unfolds more details of the daily running of Eliasson’s studio: It is a structure that accommodates not only artist, but also curators, researchers, teachers, and, chefs. The Studio Olafur Eliasson is closer to an art institution rather than a traditionally defined studio with only artist and the assistants. A quick glimpse on its website reveals each members’ role and positions, its specification is nothing smaller than an art institution.

As its head of research and communications Anna Engberg-Pedersen suggested in the book “What we do is essentially art and what we are borrowing from other fields – words, molecules, whatever – we insert into art practice, transforming them and putting them to sue in a way that expands what we are producing in the field of art.” She did not over-emphasis the role of the studio’s ‘transdisciplinarity.’ Instead, she affirms the necessities of having disciplines.

In the series of interviews with members from the Studio Olafur Eliasson. Coles did not interview Eliasson himself, but chose to talk to other members in the studio who hold various positions such as the archivist, the curator, the architect. As a result, readers might get a better sense of the supposed Transdisciplinarity of the studio. This can be considered as a deliberate attempt to overcome the prioritization of its central figure over its other members. Cole’s attentiveness to the literary conventions is also indicated in the introduction where he referred to developments in different genres of literature such as art criticism, ethnographical writings, and new Journalism, all relevant references for the writing structure of this book. It is obvious that the publication itself is experimenting with another new way of knowledge production.

In the second half of the book, Coles interviewed some other well-known figures in the art world, from the artist-turned-designer Vito Acconci, to the curator Maria Lind. There are also some unexpected interviewees, including anthropologist James Clifford. However, the inclusion of Clifford was not only to investigate on the cross-section between art and ethnography, but also to diversify the book’s very own ‘transdisciplinarity.’